Make time to enjoy the benefits of your membership
With busy schedules and irregular work patterns it can be hard for us to stick to a healthy consistent exercise routine. We’ve all been there, one missed session turns into two, turns in three and then before you know it we’ve been inactive for a month and we aren’t sure how it happened?
If this sounds like you and you are figuring out how you get back on track but make the most of your FIT4 membership, we have a few tips that may help:-
1. Get on a Regular Schedule
Easier said than done! Our advice would be to start slow, Rome wasn’t built in a day and if you are truly trying to make long lasting lifestyle habits then you need to set realistic expectations. If you can’t train 6 times a week, train 5, or 4, or 3, or 2 or 1. If you commit to consistently exercise once per week then after a month, twice a week wont seem so insurmountable. Fast forward 6 months and the cumulative effect of those sessions, however low in number they may seem, will have had a dramatic impact on your health. Don’t underestimate that some is always better than none!
Once the habit has formed, the schedule can develop to fit your lifestyle and you can scale up or down as you see fit. Allow for flexibility and be consistent.
2. Give our classes a try…we have over 300 per week
Some people prefer to be lone wolves at the gym and create their own routines. Going to classes, however, is a great way to learn new workout techniques, find that extra motivation, and take advantage of the social aspect of working out. Classes are also a fun way to try something new like the Les Mills range, This girl can, pole fitness, group cycle and much more! (hyperlink timetable)
If the prospect of this sounds daunting or intimidating, then take a friend, speak to the instructor and find a pace in the room where you feel comfortable. Remember even the most advanced students were once beginners.
CLASS TIMETABLE 3. Take Advantage of our Pools
Centres typically have lots of different amenities, and many members only take advantage of a small number. One of those amenities that hardcore gym or class goers regularly overlook is the pool. Splashpoint Leisure Centre in Worthing and Wadurs Swimming Pool in Shoreham both provide easy access to great facilities for both yourself and your family.
Swimming is a great workout and is low impact on joints. It is a major calorie burner, according and is a refreshing way to start or end a long day. If you are looking to keep your exercise varied and entertaining then swimming once or twice a week may help keep things interesting.
OUR POOLS 4. Learn How to Properly Use Equipment
Our centres have professional staff that can help you learn to use new equipment or properly use more common machines. We are shortly coming to the end of a long period of investment in our centres and are proud to say we will have a brand new Inspace fitness suite across Worthing Leisure Centre, Splashpoint Leisure Centre and Southwick Leisure Cetre. Combined with the amazing Technogym equipment at Lancing Manor Leisure Centre, it’s never been a better time to engage with our staff to help make the most out of this kit!
Michele Olson, Ph.D., professor of exercise science at Auburn University Montgomery, says that personal trainers and nutritionists “Can speed up your progress and results” in addition to determining factors that could result in injury or “prevent you from making progress.”
Your gym membership includes a free session with a personal trainer or fitness coach, and that session can pay dividends for years to come. Use that session and a variety of different workout routines to build a personal wellness program specific to you.
5. Get sporty!
It’s not uncommon to see squash, tennis and badminton courts full of people of all ages and fitness levels. That’s because a game of squash, tennis or badminton can range from an entry-level sport to a highly competitive, intense workout. The key to making these fast-paced activities approachable for a beginner is to slow down the pace of the game.
These activities target the muscles in your back, shoulders, arms, chest, quads, glutes, and hamstrings, while also working your core. Racquet sports have also been shown to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality and dramatically improve general wellbeing. Combine that with the endurance, speed, balance, and agility, required to compete and you will quickly see how these, and other sports offered with your FIT4 membership, can give you a phenomenal workout while also burning a ton of calories
6. Join a community
Fitness communities can help you get stronger, faster and fitter, but they can help your sense of belonging even more. Online workouts may have taken hold during lockdown, but new research shows that we couldn’t wait to be back with our workout buddies in real life. During the first week that fitness classes were back in England, class booking services, recorded a 600% increase in the number of new members.
While there’s study after study that shows how beneficial it is to train with a friend, from making you train harder and garner more results to reducing stress, perhaps the love of fitness classes is about being part of something bigger: a community.
Fitness communities have flourished over the past year, both virtually and, when allowed, in-person. Communities aren’t just about having a friend who supports you when you walk into the gym, class, pool or court, they’re about a feeling of belonging and a source of motivation that cannot be put into monetary terms nor overlooked.
